Automatic vaporizer.



S. M. LANGWURTHY.

AUTOMATIC VAPORIZER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 5. 1911.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

VSOLON' M. LANGWORTHY, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC VAPORIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' 'Patented sept. 17,1918.

Application filed .T anuary 5, 1917. Serial No. 140,830.

To all 07mm #may concern:

y Linn and State Be it known that I, SoLoN M. LANG- woRTI-ITVa citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Cedar Rapids, in the 'rcountyof of Iowa, have invented certain newV and useful Improvements in'Auto-` maticI Vaporizers, andV I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap'pert'ains to make and use the same. Y

VThis invention relates to the production of combustible or explosive mixtures suitable for internal Vcombustion Y-or explosion engines, and has for its object the generation of such mixtures by the'use of mechanism 'specially adapted for the purpose.

The invention'consists in means for producing a mixture'as aforesaid, by forcing air through a body 'of liquid suitable forY the purpose, such as the various hydro-carbons, the air in` its passage through the liquid gathering up sulicient thereof to render the product highly combustible or explosive.

The invention consists further in means for i tempering or diluting the mixture so produced, which is ordinarily too rich in the liquid ingredient, by a superadded commingling therewith of air, preferably :humid, or other ingredients; Y Y

These and other .objects incidental to the invention are attained by mechanism'hereinafter fully set forth, and clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing;7 in

Figure 1.is a side view of mechanism adapted "for theY productionof such an explosive mixture automatically and continuouslyby an automobile for theuse of itsVV engine. Fig. 2 is'a longitudinal section of the initial mixture producer. ,Fig 3 is a. central, vvertical section, of an'auxiliary mixer andy means for controlling the admission of Vthemixture into the explosion chamber of the engine. Fig. tV is a section of' a part thereof to the right of the line Atp-Aft", Fig. a section ofa very simple type ofmixer shown as a primer only.

The principle of the `'invention is best illustrated in Fig. 5, the mechanism being very simple. vThe numeral 1 .denotes the intake manifold of an engine (Fig. '1).V To this is attached, as by a nipple k2 -a recep-V tacle 3 adapted to hold ai quantity of asuit-r able vaporizable'liquid, such Ls gasolene,

. chamber, which control the flow of explosive be' described presently. The

Vsome convenient place,

alcohol, or other hydro-carbon. The receptacle has an outlet 4, preferably leading downwardly, since the product of vaporization'is vheavier than air,jand it is desirable: to take advantage of gravity in delivering it where desired. the admission of air, inlet being belowVl the let, vand preferably receptacle.

the inner end of this g upper end ofthe outnear the bottom of the Suction being appliedV to the An inlet 5 provides for; Y

outlet, Vit will be evident Vthat air drawnA l Y through the liquid will be more or less saturatedgtherewith, y tensity of the suction, or the depth of the liquid, which is supposed Vto be kept always somewhat higher in the receptacle than the lower end of the inlet. The upward extenaccording to the 4in-.

sion of the receptacle at 6 makes an air prevents overflling and flooding kthrough the outlet. A cap? closes the top of the inlet, which has air-holes 8 to allow the inflow kof air, the cap :in thisV case being useful mainly the better to eX-Vl clude dirt. This simple device is Well adapted for use as a primer, for starting the engine, but for continuous service other mechanism is` provided, which will now be described. l v

Referring to Fig. 1, thenumeral 9 denotes one of the sidesills Vsupporting the engine, which is of a familiar type.H ,In front of the engineis the usual radiator `10, connected with the water passages of the engine by tubes l1 and 12. Through the tubular steering-post 13 extends the throttle jSO shaft 14 vcooperating with bevel gears l5 to v vapor, as will hood 16 and dash 17, may be'as usually constructed. At here'shownas adja`` centV tothe engine and in front of the dash, is mounted a tank 18. If 'set where there is suflicient room this maybe the main fuel Y supply tank, now usually placed at the rear of -the automobile body (not shown), and preferablyV ata level lower than the intake manifold. As illustrated, the tank may be consideredl as an auxiliary to such a mainV supply tank, which should set a little higher', and taking its contents through a pipe 19. In any case, thertank 18 is in-practice' made of' generous size, so as to delivera volume of vapor in excess of all possiblegrequirements" of the engine. It isfpreferably of largewarea and comparatively shallow,'so

Ythat changes vin the' depth of liquid are never very great. Entering the tank from above is a tube 20, which extends to near the bottom of the tank. The upper end should be capped at 21, from dust or rain, and is pierced at 22 for the admission of air. A cork tell-tale 23 serves to prevent overfilling. Surrounding this inlet tube is a float 24 having a chamber 25 formed therein, the upper part of said chamber serving as a guide for the float. An outlet is provided at 26, and connecting with this outlet is a flexible tube 27, as of rubber leading to the service pipe 28. The flexible tube allows the float to move freely up and down and tilt sidewise or endwise as the Y position of the tank shifts over an unlevel f It also'serves in a measure road. The service pipe leads to a connection (mediate as herein shown) with the intakemanifold of the engine, and is thereby subjected to the suction of the engine pistons. It will be evident that this suction would draw from the tank saturated air if the ioat and flexible tube were dispensed with, but the construction shown is useful, nevertheless, in a number of particulars. One important function the float performs is to largely prevent splash in the tank. to equalize the quality of the mixture, since the withdrawal thereof is always from the same point as regards the urface of the liquid. This is important when the vapor is drawn from a large tank, as in this case, since otherwise its richness might vary in different parts of the tank. The advantage which the construction supplies, in the matter of simplicity, and in dispensing with a delicate float valve, liable to clog or leak, will be evident. It also takes advantage of the greatest agitation and aerification of the liquid, which is of course justaround the lower end of the inlet. In practice this construction would serve the engine with an abundant supply of vapor, but too rich if gasolene at ordinary temperatures is used. Provision is made, however, for still further enriching Lthe mixture. This consists of a pipe 29 leading from the liquid directly, and preferably discharging through a jet 30 regulated by a needle valve 31. The ad- Vjustment of this needle valve willbe described presently. p K

Instead of connectingV the service pipe directly with-the intake manifold, it is in practice preferred to interpose a mixing chamber 32, best made funnel shape, substantially as shown, giving a constrictedout-Y v let at 33, whence it flares downwardly. In

the mouth of the outlet is fitted a checkvalve, here shown as a ball 34, seated by a light spring V35, which arrests any backward movement of gas or other products of combustion. The spring may be supported on a gauze screen 36, which serves as a strainer, and also to shield the tube arrests back-firing. In the service lever 42 may be adjusted, or neutralized altogether, by passing the link stem through the lever wrist 4.5 loosely, and providing it with collars a6 vadjustable to any desired pointon the stem. Unless the hydro-carbon be of low grade this jet of raw liquid is seldom needed. It is to be noted, however, that it does not enter the explosion chamber of the engine as a 'rawVV liquid, but ycommingled anddiluted with air.y

As above suggested,-the main service pipe is ordinarily suiiicient,fand much more than sufficient for the requirements of the engine, with an abundant supply Yof rich vapor. It is now only necessary tov reduce it by an admixture of air, or air commingled with other ingredients, one of the most efficient of which is water. The device for this purpose is in the main a duplicate of that shown in Fig. 5, consisting of a receptacle a7 with a depending inlet 48, and an upstanding outlet 49 arranged as already described. The outlet is best provided with a check-valve 50, of a simple type, requiring no description. The inlet is shown provided with a cap 5l, which may be removedfto admit dry air. It is also shown piped to the upper part of the radiator by a pipe 52. A shut-off valve 53 may be opened or closed by a rod 54 passing through the dash. to the water in the radiator, by pipe 55, also provided with a shut-off valve. Preferably, but not necessarily, the air admitted through the inlet 48 is made to pass through a bot It is also shown pipedV of water, and thus reaches the mixing cham- A luted to the proper point of highest efficiency without the use of'minute valvesY and othery delicate mechanism. y

It is adapted to secure a very pureproduct, free from dust and other ingredients detrimental to the engine and its working, a large proportion of the carbon deposit in explosion chambers being road dust. This is rendered possible bythe factthat before the explosive vapor reaches the point in its course where any delicacy of adjustment is required it has been thoroughly washed and freed from particles of solid matter.

The device admits of the whole supply of liquid being placed at a lower level than the intake manifold, thus dispensing with the need of employing either gravity or vacuum to produce a flow of the liquid. This also eliminates the inconvenience and danger due to flooding.

As the device in vaporization deals with a large mass it is well adapted to produce explosive mixtures in practical working volumes from low-grade hydro-carbcns.

rI'he fact is recognized that in time more or less foreign matter will accumulate in the bottom of the float-tank. It is accordingly provided with a settling well 56 and drain cock 57, so that the impure residuum may be drawn off and filtered or thrown away.

In Fig. 2 is shown a screen 58 across the tube 20, for the purpose of breaking up airbubbles, thus securing a better saturation of the indrawn air. Y

The cap may be made adjustable on the upper end of the tube 20, as by threading, and thus serve to close or open the air-holes moreor less. This will of course increase or diminish the relative work of the airsupplying auxiliary 47, and thus automatically temper the mixture by very simple means.

It will be evident that an increase in suction willcorrespondingly increase the sup- Y' ply of both air and liquid, and vice versa, the process being thus exactly adapted to the requirements of a motor running at varying speeds. Y

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. Combined with the intake manifold of an internal explosion engine, a vaporizer adapted to supply an explosive mixture to said manifold, and also to supply the same with undiluted liquid, a pipe for said vapor opening into the upper part' of said manifold, a separate pipe for said liquid, and means to control the admission of both vapor and liquid.

2. Combined with the intake manifold of a gasolene engine, aV vaporizer adapted to supply an explosive mixture to saidmanifold, vapor-modifying device mounted 4above the manifold, and communicating therewith, comprisingv a receptacle adapted to hold liqui an air inlet tube extendingV to near the bottom thereof, an outlet opening inwardly above the surface of said liquid and at its lower end into the manifold, a pipe connecting thel vaporizer with the vapor modifier, and a check-valve adapted to prevent back-firing into said modifier.

3. Combined with the intake manifold of an internal explosion engine, adaptedv to supply an explosive mixture to said manifold, and also to supply the same with undilutedliquid, a pipe for said vapor, a throttle-valve therein, a separate pipe for said liquid, a valve therefor, and means adapted to operate said valves concurrently.

4. Combined with a vaporizer adapted to supply an explosive mixture to the intake of a gasolenel engine, a vapor modifier, comprising a receptacle adapted to hold'liquid, an inlet tube therein extending to near the bottom of the receptacle and communicating with said vaporizer, an outlet extending i inwardly above the surface ofthe liquid, and outwardly communicating with the intake, a pipe leading from the upper part of said receptacle to a source of moisture, as the radiator of the engine, a valve therein, and a rod accessible Ato the operatorof the engine, and adapted'to open and close said valve. Y

5. Combined with a vaporizer adapted to supply an explosive mixture to gasolene engines, an auxiliary vapor-modifying device mounted above the intake of the engine, and communicating with the vaporizer, a checka vaporizer valve therein, a throttlingdevice attached to Y the engine manifold, and supporting the modifier, said throttling device having a passageway for vapor fiared above and below a constricted neck, and provided with a check-valve and throttle-valve substantially asset forth.

Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SOLON M. LANGWORTHY. Witnesses: Y 4h*g EMMA G. SUFrrcooL, Y HAzEL LARsoN.

Gopes of this patent may be obtained for five cents Veach, 'by addressing the @Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

